Local teen serves up a little Chicken Soup

For as long as Cape Cod Academy senior Amelia Mumford can recall she has had a passion for stringing words together to create expressive works.

Kathleen Szmit

CCA senior published in popular book series

Nancy mumford photo AUTHOR, AUTHOR – Cape Cod Academy senior Amelia Mumford’s essay “A Fresh Start” was published last year in Chicken Soup for the Soul Teens Talk High School. The now-published author appreciates the connection with others that writing can offer. For as long as Cape Cod Academy senior Amelia Mumford can recall she has had a passion for stringing words together to create expressive works. Some pieces of Mumford’s writing have been for school, while others have been simply for her. Last year Mumford’s writing began reaching the masses when a heartfelt essay about her parents’ divorce, titled “A Fresh Start,” was included in Chicken Soup for the Soul Teens Talk High School, making Mumford, officially, a published author. “It was so exciting,” she said. “I think the biggest moment was when I got the paycheck and realized, ‘I’m a published writer!’” Mumford, a resident of Marstons Mills and East Sandwich, can’t recall a time when writing wasn’t an integral aspect of her life. “I’ve been writing as long as I can remember,” she said. “My sister has always been writing, too. I kind of said, ‘I want to do what Annie’s doing!’” Growing up surrounded by books – Mumford’s mother Nancy works in a library – was a tremendous help, as was her family’s friendship with syndicated local columnist Saralee Perel. It was Perel who encouraged Mumford to submit to Chicken Soup, believing that Mumford’s writing was exactly what the publishers were looking for. “Chicken Soup wants one-of-a-kind stories that will change other people’s lives when they read the story. That’s exactly the kind of writing that she does,” said Perel. “Amelia has her own unique way of phrasing something, expressing herself. Her heart is just filled with love and it shows in her writing.” An aspect of writing that Mumford deeply appreciates is the ability to reach others. “Just being able to share with others everything you feel is amazing,” she said. “It’s the universal human emotions that connect to everybody.” In the future Mumford would like to continue using her writing to help forge connections between different cultures worldwide. “It’s a big step toward understanding on a global scale,” she said. “We need to understand each other much more than we do now.”